The UC Irvine Anteaters visit Spanos Center to take on the Pacific Tigers. Action begins at 10:00 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 4.
The Tigers are hoping for a better outcome after their 79-71 loss to Sacramento State in their last game. T.J. Wallace was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points. The Anteaters are coming off a demoralizing 75-56 loss against Evansville in their last game. Jaron Martin had a good shooting night, leading the team with 15 points.
UC Irvine takes on Pacific as a five-point favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at 134 points. The Tigers have gone 1-5 Straight Up (SU) and 2-3 Against The Spread (ATS).
Over on the other bench, the Anteaters head into the game with records of 3-3 ATS and 5-2 SU. The Anteaters rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 21st-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.61. UC Irvine’s defense is one of the top in the nation, with opponents shooting only .376 from the field. They average 5.1 blocks per game, good for 49th in the nation.
These two meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. UC Irvine won the last game in the matchup, but the win was not enough to overtake Pacific in the head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU. The Tigers also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – UC-Irv, ATS Winner – UC-Irv, O/U – Over
Notes
Pacific is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games.
Pacific is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games at home.
Pacific is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing UC Irvine.
Pacific is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against UC Irvine.
Pacific averages 72.0 points per game, placing the team just 223rd in the nation. UC Irvine ranks 79th in points allowed, giving up 65.7 points per game.
In its last game, UC Irvine lost by a margin of 19 points. Pacific is 1-1 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. UC Irvine has a 2-1 record in blowouts.
The Pacific Tigers average a field goal percentage of 40.9% this season. The UC Irvine Anteaters have a losing record of 1-2 when opponents have a FG% of 40.9% or greater.
The Pacific Tigers rank lower for their field goal percentage (285th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (279th), but the UC Irvine Anteaters have a better FG% ranking (141st) than eFG% ranking (172nd).
UC Irvine ranks 39th in assists, recording 17.0 per game. Pacific performs worse at 213th with 13.0 assists per game.
UC Irvine, the 49th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 5.1 per game. Pacific does worse, ranked 311th with 2.0.
Pacific ranks 58th in offensive rebounding. UC Irvine ranks 121st in defensive rebounding.
On average, Pacific forces a turnover rate of 19.0%. When UC Irvine turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 2-1 record.
